Enjoy an Afternoon Tea experience at a luxurious 5-star boutique hotel overlooking Kensington Palace, the birthplace of Queen Victoria, and former home of Princess Diana. Afternoon Tea as a specific meal did not evolve until the beginning of the 19th century, although the drink had been popular since its introduction in 1559. Anna, Duchess of Bedford, invented the meal to fill the time between early luncheon and late dinner which she felt proved to be the low point of many a country house party. As time progressed, it became a meal surrounded by etiquette and very strange customs; silver teapots, delicate china, cake stands, starched napkins, whether to pour the milk before or after the tea? The heyday of Afternoon Tea was in the days of the British Empire when the ‘Sahib’ and his family, having taken early luncheon, would have to wait until the cool of the late evening to take dinner. It was at this point that the fashionable hotels took whole-heartedly to the serving of traditional afternoon and Devonshire cream teas. Enjoy your Afternoon Tea with a cup of tea from our fine loose-leaf, hot chocolate or freshly brewed Illy coffee.